Thank you all that were able to attend our first meeting for 2010.  Charles (KE6QZU) kicked us off with a fun quiz which caused several of our members to reach way back and shake off a few cobwebs.  Ed (N7RTA) was the winner having 11 correct answers.  After the quiz and some quick club business we conducted a Simplex shoe size drill which involved everybody getting on the air and making contact with the other members at the meeting.  After the meeting a few of us stuck around to help Leroy (KB9DBN) determin why his radio would no longer power up. 

Next month we will be doing a build-it-night and will be making universal AA battery packs that can be used to power your radio.  These are very useful as they can power any 12 volt device and are not just limited to a specific kind of radio.  We did learn last night that they are virtually useless without the AA batteries installed though :)  (Sorry Ed, I couldn't resist).  We are working out the details on getting the parts together for the kits.  We will likely have the parts available for purchase at the next club meeting and members can expect to pay under $6 per kit that they want to build.  We hope that your able to make it out in February for another great build-it-night project... 

Welcome everybody to 2010.  This year is shaping up to be a year of action and progression.  The 2010 OLRC board meet for the first time last week and and had a very productive meeting. The primary focus of the board meeting was to map topics for the entire year and to plan a few activities.  I think we came up with a great schedule and look forward to working through it this year.  Of course, as with all things the schedule is subject to change and for the latest information on activities and topics of discussion at meetings, check out the Club Calendar.

For 2010 the board has put together an outline of topics for the year.  

• January: Welcome to 2010, Member survey review
• February: Build-it-Night (AA Battery Packs)
• Mar: Public Service Events, Operating in different conditions and environments
• April: Build-it-Night (Antenna)
• May: Country Fest preparation, More ICS
• June: Repeaters and their operation, Tour of a mountain top repeater site
• July: Mobile installations and show-n-tell
• August: Radio Direction Finding, Family BBQ
• September: Police Radio Operation, Intro to ICS, Facility Tour of City Hall/EOC/PD
• October: Build-it-Night (Battery Charger)
• November: Digital Radio Modes, 2011 Board Nominations
• December: 2011 Board Elections and club member social 

On December 17 we held our final club meeting for 2009.  At the meeting we held elections for the 2010 board as well as conducting a traffic copying exercise.

The 2010 Board is as follows:

For the traffic copying exercise, we tuned into the Statewide RACES Net and copied checkins from stations located all over the state.  This is a good test of skill as the audio through the different repeaters isn't always clear.  In addition the group quickly noticed that small differences like Kilo Whiskey vs Kilo Watt Whiskey make a big difference when trying to understand what is being said.

Congratulations to our 2010 board and we would like to thank our 2009 board for their time and service. 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year...